Obituary of Phillip Norton

Phillip Michael Norton The remarkable life journey of Phillip Michael Norton of Charlotte, N.C., ended peacefully on January 20, 2010, at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte after a brief struggle with cancer. He was 51, not nearly enough years, but enough to have touched so many people with his passion and faith. Michael, as he was known, was born in Montgomery, Ala., and moved to Charlotte with his family when he was a little boy. Through God?s grace, he defeated personal demons and rose to become a tireless advocate for the homeless, owner of a landscaping business and beloved member of Myers Park United Methodist Church. Michael firmly believed everyone was a child of God and capable of transformation. He employed the homeless through his business, ran a halfway house for men in recovery, and helped coordinate the Room in the Inn shelter program. The lobby of Moore Place, apartments for the chronically homeless, will be named in his honor. He recently had enrolled in courses at Pfeiffer University so he could go to seminary, become a minister and spread God?s message of love. He wept when cancer cut short his dream after three weeks. For the last three years of his life, he had found a faith home at Myers Park United Methodist Church, where Michael Norton stories abound. When members wanted to grow a garden of Asian vegetables to give to Montagnard refugees, Michael and some of the men he employed showed up with heavy equipment to till the ground. One night, moved by the work he did welcoming the homeless to the church through Room in the Inn, Michael left a postcard on the refrigerator door. It read, ?My Gold in life is to please Jesus.? Church members wonder if he meant to write that it was his ?goal in life.? Either way worked, they decided. They had it framed and hung in the room where the homeless share meals in winter. Throughout the church, he?s known and loved as the fellow whose arms were frequently raised in worship, moved as he was by the spirit. Michael was preceded in death by his father, James Lawrence Norton. He is survived by his mother, Anne Norton Guarino of Matthews; a daughter, Stephanie Anne Norton of Greenville, N.C.; partner Archie Fortner of Charlotte; two brothers, James Lawrence Norton Jr. of Charleston, S.C., and Richard Haigler Norton of The Woodlands, Texas; a sister, Virginia Anne Norton of Charlotte; and an aunt and uncle, Cynthia and Tony Monroe of Charlotte. A service celebrating his life will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, January 23, in Jubilee Hall at Myers Park United Methodist Church, 1501 Queens Road. Dr. James C. Howell, the Senior Minister, will officiate. Minister of Missions Kevin Wright will participate. The family will receive friends afterward in Jubilee Hall. Visitation will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, January 22, at Hankins & Whittington Funeral Service, 1111 East Blvd. Gifts in Michael?s memory can be made to Moore Place through Urban Ministry Center, 945 N. College St., Charlotte, NC 28206.